Bittersweet Memory
by g.g.foogle
Summary: Naruto recalls a bittersweet memory. SasuSaku from Naruto POV


**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine**

* * *

As I sped through the forest looking for my teammates, I hoped, once again, that they would understand me interrupting there weekly training time together. I mean, it's not like I do it all the time. In the three months they've been doing this, I have, believe it or not, only ever interrupted them twice. And one of those times was because Oba-chan had told me to, so I really don't think that one should count. Besides, those two of all people know why I don't like eating alone on days like today.

And it's not like I didn't try to give them there space, it's just that everyone else I have asked so far where either leaving on mission, had too much paperwork to do, or, in the case of Ero-sennin, had 'research' to do and I just wasn't to the mood to argue with him.

I stop for a moment to get my bearings and take a sniff of the air. I catch the familiar sent I've been following, once again thankful that Kiba was willing to help me with my new heightened sense of smell (though I did hate having to lie about how I got it). With as strong as the smell is, as well as the added smells of perspiration and ozone from Sasuke using the chidori, I knew that I had to be close. Looking around, I catch a glimpse of pink off to my left. However, I only take a few more leaps in that direction before I stop again, feeling ever so thankful that I left my jacket back at my apartment due to the warmth of the day. The black t-shirt I wore will make it harder to be seen.

Why don't I want to be seen when I was coming here to interrupt them in the first place? Because at the moment Sasuke was sitting against a tree and Sakura-chan was sitting between his legs, leaning her body back against his chest, his arms around her waist with their fingers intertwined.

Now, normally I'd love to catch the two of them in moments like this and embarrass the hell out them, especially Sasuke. But today two things stop me. One is the fact that, because of the Hokage's unwavering trust in her apprentice, this is one of the few times that the two of them are truly alone and don't have an ANBU around watching Sasuke, for both his and the villages protection. The second, and the one that brings the small smile to my face, is that this scene semi reminds me of when Sakura-chan and I were together as a couple. Of course, the memory of the end of that relationship was bittersweet.

-FLASHBACK-

Now despite what you might think, just because we live in a place called Fire Country doesn't mean it doesn't get cold. Trust me, not only does it get cold, it gets _damn_ cold sometimes. It was on one of these particularly cold nights that when this particular memory happened.

Sakura-chan and I were lying on the couch in her living room, cuddling in front of a nice warm, roaring fire. The heat had gone out in my apartment, again, and since her parents were going to be gone for the evening, she invited me over to stay the night. And no, we didn't do anything remotely close to what you might find in one of Ero-sennin books. It's just that we found out that it's nice to wake up next to someone you care about once, after a cold night during one of our mission a few months before.

I had been half listening to her talk about some pointless gossip, absent mindedly running my fingers through her hair. After a few minute of watching the flames dance in the fireplace, I realized that she had stopped talking. I had at first thought that maybe she had fallen asleep. It was kind of late, and I knew that she found what I was doing extremely relaxing. But when I looked down at her, I found that she had that far away look in her eyes that I had come to expect from her. Every time she had that look, I knew what she was thinking about, or to be more accurate, who.

Sasuke.

Now I'm not as dense as people think I am, though I am a bit more oblivious to some things than I'd like to admit. I knew almost right away from that look that she still cared for our teammate a great deal, maybe even still loved him. But she had also said that she had loved me, and I knew she meant it. The question was did she love him more than she did me? It hurt me to admit that the answer was probably yes, but I didn't know for sure, and I tried to avoid finding out as long as possible.

I sighed as I continued to stroke her hair. With the two of us leaving in two days on what would be out last chance to bring back Sasuke, I knew I couldn't avoid finding out.

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?" I had asked. She tensed for a second, but relaxed slight, but not as much as she was before.

"W-who?"

"Sasuke. And I know you were, so don't try to deny it," I leaned over so I could look at her face more, "You're worried about him, aren't you?"

She sat up a little and looked into my eyes, giving me a sad little smile, "Of course, I am. You are too. He's our teammate after all."

I shook my head, "It's more than that." I looked up into her eye, seeing confusion on the surface, but underneath I could see a small bit of dread. I knew I had my answer with that, but as much as it pained me, I pushed on, I had to know the truth.

"You still love him, don't you?"

Her widen with shock for a second, and she looked down to break eye contact with me. She started to shake to head, started to deny it, but the moment she looked back into my eyes, she broke down. I held her close while she buried her head into my chest while she cried.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, "I'm so sorry. After what he did, I wanted to hate him, to forget about him. I tried to move on, I tried to love you as much as I loved him, but I couldn't. Even after all that, I still longed to be with him. I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry!"

That was it. That was the answer that I dreaded hearing. Part of me wanted to cry as well, but I held off. This was hard enough on her as it was, she didn't need me crying on top of it. So I just held her close, doing my best to comfort her.

"You're not upset?" she asked when she finally calmed. She was still resting against my chest, I think for the familiar comfort more than anything else. I took a moment to think before I answered.

"No, not really," I answered, "a little hurt, yes, but I think I kinda expected this to happen."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"It's kinda… hard to describe," I said after a moment, "It's just that, when look at where I want to be in a few years…"

"You don't find me next to you, right?"

"Actually, I do, but not the way I thought you'd be," I paused for a moment, "I guess the best way to put it would be in a more… sisterly role. Some who loves and cares for me, but in a non-romantic sense. Does that make sense?"

"I think so," she finally sat up slightly and looked into my eyes, "When I told you that I love you, I was being honest. But the love I feel for you seems, different from the love I feel for Sasuke. I think, because neither of us had any siblings that we didn't realized the type of love that it was."

I nodded, understanding what she said completely. However, I couldn't help myself from teasing her slightly.

"So I'm just a brother to you huh?" I said as I playfully scratched my chin in thought, "As I recall, you had some odd ways of expressing sisterly love." She blushed, remembering some of the heavier make-out sessions we had. But she smiled and gently bopped me on the head.

"As I recall, you were enjoying those times just as much I as was," she said with amusement.

I laughed, "Guilty. So I guess what we feel for each other is probably just a _little_ bit more than what a brother or a sister would feel for each other."

She nodded at me, but then she started to yawn. It was then that we both realized how late, or early depending on how you looked at it, it really was.

"Boy, I'm glad that we don't have training in the morning, or else I'd be about as late as Kakashi-sensei," she looked over at me in trepidation, "I think it might be a bit awkward if we…"

I sighed and nodded, "Yeah, you're probably right. I'll just crash here on the couch then."

"Are you sure?" she asked, "I mean you could have my bed while I used my parents."

I dismissed her thought with a wave of my hand, "Nah, its fine. I'm used to crashing on a couch on nights like this, though it's usually at Iruka-sensei's."

She smiled as she got up and walking into the hallway. I heard a door open and shut; then she came back in with a pillow and comforter. She helped me get settled in, even going as far as to tuck me in. I had to smile at that. After she was done, she gave me a kiss on the forehead and bid me goodnight. Just before she left to go to bed, I stopped her.

"Sakura-chan, do you think that I'll ever find some?"

She turned to me and smiled, "Yes, I'm sure you will."

I looked over at her, slightly confuse. She sounded so confident, like she knew something that I didn't. "How do you know?"

Her smile turned into that knowing smirk I hated, the one that said she knew something that I didn't. "Because she's closer to you than you think." Yep, she definitely knew something that I didn't, or at least something I didn't realize and I knew that she was never going to tell me. Ever. As she turned and left, I was still utterly confused, so with a sigh I gave up trying to understand what she meant and once again settled back onto the couch.

-END FLASHBACK-

I smiled as I recalled that night. As I said, it was a bittersweet memory, but nowhere near as bad as some of the ones I've been reliving today. Even though we're no longer together, we're still there for each other when we need to be, as well as to playfully flirt with each other from time to time, usually at Sasuke's expense.

"You better not hurt her, teme," I said quietly to myself as I started to move away from the clearing, "Or I'm gonna kick your ass."

As I started to move away, I realized that I still didn't have someone to eat with. I was starting to think that I was doomed to have to eat alone when familiar scent hit my nose as I passed by a group of vines. As I finally recognized where I had smelled that scent before, I couldn't help but smile as I recalled the last thing Sakura-chan had told me that night.

I wonder if Hinata-chan's busy.

* * *

Little something that came to mind when i read an argument over which couple is more likely, Naruto/Hinata or Naruto/Sakura. Personally I like Naruto and Hinata, but I don't think Naruto and Sakura is impossible, I just don't think it would be long lasting because of how Sakura feels about Sasuke.

Also, even though this is a one-shot, it might have a connection of a longer Naruto fan-fic I'm thinking of doing, but it's only in planning stages at the moment, so it might not happen.


End file.
